God willing ... and the creek don't rise ...
That was one of my dad's favorite phrases. And it has been running through my head ever since the rains began a month ago.
I know that it means with good luck ... and no major problems ... there will be success in whatever is undertaken. It is definitely a postive statement of hope & encouragement.
Offering up encouragement. That's been the theme of my life lately.
But the creek ... it has been rising. Inevitablely.
With only a little warning ... the rains came. And when that much rain comes down ... in torrents ... you have unusual consequences.
Flash flooding is the most immediate. It comes quickly and recedes slowly.
More serious, though, is the creek-rising type of flooding. It occurs when runoff from sustained rainfall exceeds the capacity of the rivers, streams, or other bodies of flowing water.
My experience with traditional flooding is that it always catches you by surprise. The storm has passed. The sun is shining. And you are thanking your lucky stars that somehow you were spared ... this time.
And then, out-of-the-blue ... that dad-gum creek ...it's a-rising!
It comes slowly ... and lingers ... and lingers.
Even if you live close to the water ... the rising water ... creeping slowly ... then suddenly rushing in and washing away .your life as you know it ... it always comes as a surprise.
There has been a lot of discussion about the rain. References to the 40 days and 40 nights ... Noah ... and such. It was interesting to me how many of my informed & enlightened friends posted comments on their status' that said things like .... "Guess maybe I should build an ark" ... in response to the rain.
Seriously. Didn't they know that building an ark after the rain was falling ... was an effort in futility?!?! Best guess ... is that it took Noah something like 50-75 years to build the Ark !!
And remember ... God gave him explicit instructions ... to build a BOAT ... way in advance ... to sustain his family & the animals ... during a flood ... in a time when NO RAIN had ever fallen.
Think about it. God says build a boat because I am going to wash away the wickedness in the world with floodwaters.
Noah: Floodwaters?!?!
God: Yes. It's going to rain.
Noah: What is rain?
God: Wait & see. Do you trust Me?
Noah: Yes. Lord. Use me.
... knowing full well that he didn't have a clue what rain was or what God was planning to do.
Damage ... devastation ... troubles ... that's what most of us associate with flooding. People that have been victims of flooding ... pretty much lose everything ... then start over ... with nothing ... and life is never really the same ... ever ... again.
One common fatal mistake people make is driving through flood waters. Did you know that 66% of all flood-related deaths are caused by that one
head-strong, stubborn navigational error ?!?
It's true during the natural disaster that is flooding.
It's true in the emotional disasters of life.
Many of my friends are besieged by flood waters. Not the ones caused by the recent storms. That's a blessing, for sure.
It's the creek-of- life-rising that's overtaking my friends. And, you guessed it, they think they are still in control ... somehow ... insisting on driving through the flowing water.
Guess they don't realize that just 6 inches of rapidly moving floodwater can knock a person down ... a mere 2 feet of water can float a large vehicle even a bus. Honest. It's true. One-third of flooded roads and bridges are so damaged by water that any vehicle trying to cross stands only a 50% chance of making it to the other side.
A 50/50 chance. Not the best odds, I'm thinking. Unless you're feeling extremely lucky.
Lucky. That's how I was feeling on Friday. It was Friday the 13th. And I felt ... lucky. All day. It was a sense of well being ... security ... a knowing that all was right in my world. Of course, feeling lucky caused me to be a little bit expectant ... you know ... like something good was going to happen ... without warning.
And right on cue. Something DID happen ... or maybe it simply revealed itself ... a delayed reaction ... in response to all of the rain ...
And since then ... I've spent quite a bit of time ... moving the pieces around ... pondering ... seeing what fits ... what doesn't ... wondering ... how much room is there in my Ark ...
Actually ... the ME in me ... is still puzzling over ... where the lucky is hiding ... at the end of the day ...
This morning, I had a serious talk with my best friend, God, Creator of the Universe. It wasn't feeling like one of those humorous moments ... when God, greatly amused by me, was going to be ... laughing uproariously.
MJ -- Used. That's how I'm feeling.
God -- Imagine that, MJ. You feel USED ?!?!
MJ -- It sucks to feel USED.
God -- Isn't that what you asked for ?!!? Seriously, MaryJane.
It's an answered prayer !!!
MJ -- Whatever, God. I would never pray for that ...
God --- Hmmmm ... Didn't you say "Take my life, Lord. USE me" ?!?!
MJ -- Well, yeah ... but that's different.
God --- Nope. It's not. Did you really & truly think that I could USE you ...
without you ever feeling USED?!?
Ba da bing. And then ... He laughed ... out loud ... uproariously.
I love rainbows. I collect pictures of them. Friends often send me pictures of the cool rainbows they encounter. I know the biblical meaning of rainbows. And I know that rainbows have always shown up at times when I needed a word of encouragement ... personally ... from God.
All during the rains ... the storms ... the rising waters ... of the last few weeks ... the last few months ... I have been waiting for a rainbow.
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| Dump Truck Pot O' Gold by Laura Criner - 2010 |
As much rain as has fallen ... you would have thought there would have been tons of pictures of rainbow sightings ... everywhere.
Haven't seen one ... recently. Not myself ... for real ... or in a picture taken by anyone else.
Kinda makes things feel a little hopeless ... a little futile ...
Last nite I dreamed about a rainbow. I'm pretty sure ... I've never .... dreamed about a rainbow ... before.Naturally, my curiousity kicked in. So I googled "dreamed about a rainbow" & here's what I found out:
... and there it is ... the answer I have been seeking ... to all of my questions ...
Simple as that.
Simple as that.
Love you...and after the rains comes the revealing of what's important.
ReplyDelete~ Jennifer (via email)
The way I heard it was “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”….my mother had a million of these sayings, like ”girl, you could make a preacher lay his bible down”, now you know whatever it was I did was truly trying for a mother to come out with that one. Of course there was always “if you don’t stop (whatever), I am going to jump off the bridge. And since we knew where the river was and the bridge this was a valid threat.
ReplyDeleteI love your stories because they make me think of some of mine……………
~ from Donna via email